Economic Development Update

The Chamber of Commerce Adrian in the AM program this month is one that will interest many in our community. We have invited representatives from the community to provide an update of the relevant projects in Adrian and how their future focus fits in with the business community and the Chamber.

Speaking at the May 25, 2017 breakfast meeting will be:

City of Adrian – Chris Miller, Economic Development Coordinator

Lenawee Now – James Van Doren, Executive Director

Downtown Development Authority – Garry Clift, Board President

Visit Lenawee – Justin Gifford, Executive Director

Why would we present an economic development update and what role does the Chamber have in that?

As Chamber President, I want the business community to unify together. This program will provide attendees with an understanding of how our city, county, and government projects expand the possibilities for local businesses. In turn, each of our business members should be asking themselves how they fit into the relevant projects going on in Adrian.

At the recent One Lenawee community meetings I attended, I came away with a couple of areas to consider. Comments were about the improvement for Adrian is the infrastructure of our community and the need to create jobs. Both of these will take complex change for this community. It will take vision, skills, incentive, resources, and a plan. There are a lot of organizations that are working on these, including the four organizations that will be represented at this breakfast meeting.

From the Chamber’s perspective, I have asked them to share the importance this change and the organization’s role in working together for this change. We want to grow our economic base in the community. Communicating together will help avoid confusion, frustration, anxiety and false starts.

Why should you care? You need to be there to form your opinion about these ideas and concepts; and decide what you can do to contribute to and help in the development of them. The growth of Adrian will come from a combination of both local nurturing and influence from the outside.

Local nurturing projects include the UpStart business contest, the Croswell renovations and the Strongback project. Outside influences I’ve noticed lately include outside organizations purchasing retail properties on the south end of town for development, as well as ProMedica’s plan for the north side of Adrian.

The Chamber’s responsibility is to Promote, Increase, and Enhance the economic prosperity of the greater Adrian Area. The Chamber should be engaged and have as many opportunities as we can to offer our expertise – both as Chamber Board members and as individual business members. As business leaders and community leaders, if we don’t know where those opportunities are to offer our expertise, we aren’t going to be aware of where we can help.

Adrian in the AM is an informational and networking opportunity for Chamber members and others in the community. It will be held at the Lenawee Country Club, 4110 Country Club Road, Adrian, from 7:30 to 9:00 am on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Advanced registration is required on the Chamber website: www.AdrianAreaChamber.com/am

Special thanks to County National Bank, the sponsoring business for the Adrian in the AM this month. Register early online for $15 for Chamber members and $20 for future members, which includes a buffet breakfast.

If you are not a Chamber member, I invite you to give membership a try. If you have ideas, questions, or want to talk about participating in any Chamber event, give me a call at 517.265.2320, or email me at jbart@adrianareachamber.com